Each Thought The Other Was Beautifuller
by vickyvale91
Summary: Arendelle College is home to two young women, Anna and Elsa. Both are crafted by their pasts, and at times, terrifyingly haunted by them. The story of how they suffer, laugh, cry, smile, and live their lives. Modern day AU - the Literature major "Ice Queen" and the piano-player.
1. At Arendelle

**Note from the author:**

**Thank you so much for reading. Please leave comments and any thoughts you might have. I aim to write a good story and please the readers. This is my first fanfic, so I'm always looking to improve. Please also note that Elsa and Anna are not sisters in this story. Enjoy!**

* * *

Elsa brought her hands up to her hair and started to weave them into a neat, braided bun. In the comfort of her own room, all alone, she liked to keep it down in a simple braid, draped over her shoulder. But she was going out, and that warranted a more elegant hairstyle. She gathered little wisps of platinum blonde hair with her slender, pale fingers. When she was satisfied with her work, she stood up and looked at herself in the mirror for any stylistic flaws in her wardrobe that day. She wore a fitted pale blue blouse and white shorts that hugged her curves in all the right places. Her feet were dressed in ballet flats that matched her blouse. When she found no apparent wrongs in her clothing, she bent down and slinked her arm through the loops of her shoulder bag, then opened the door to leave the quiet confines of her room.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she nearly bumped into her freshman roommate, Rapunzel. They had lived in a cozy double together in North Hall. Elsa found it was nice to see a familiar face already so early in the year.

"Hello, Rapunzel." She gently greeted her old roommate.

"Elsa! What's up?" Elsa never really knew how to reply to that question. It wasn't like a _how are you_, where she could just reply _well, and you?_.

"Just heading to Oaken Library." She replied truthfully. She was itching to find herself something to do, and there was no better way to pass time than to engross herself in a lovely novel, all curled up on one of the library couches.

"Reading again are we? You sure love books!" Rapunzel opened the door to her own room, before calling out, "Well, have fun! You'd better watch out on the way over though, tons of freshmen noobs excitedly running around!" Elsa smiled back, indicating her gratefulness at the little tidbit of advice. She wasn't really in the mood to run into a crowd of freshmen. She told herself to just walk quickly and directly to Oaken, and all would be fine.

* * *

The scenery outside the window changed, and old looking buildings cropped up. As the car rolled on, Anna pressed her nose up to the glass on the passenger side. She could see people playing Frisbee in the quad, students moving boxes on little carts, and fraternity guys helping each other move sofas and other various sorts of furniture. She could barely contain her excitement, and so indulged herself by letting a little squeal peep out. On her left, a blonde haired man gave a quiet, deep laugh. It was her best friend, Kristoff.

"I'll drop you right up there in front of your dorm," he said, pointing to a quaint building that looked like it could house around seventy people. Her building was called North Hall, she remembered from the orientation packet she received in the mail several months prior. "I'll help you unload, if you help me?" Anna turned to her friend and gave him a grin.

"Sure, but I'm not helping you move that humongous couch of yours, you hear? How do you even know if your room has space for that monstrosity?"

Kristoff laughed again. "Don't call it that! You can't start college off without a good, comfy sofa. Besides, I'm sure there will be space…" He didn't seem sure of himself. "Anyway, here we are!" Kristoff put on the brakes and shut off the engine. He heard Anna squeal again, along with the faint sound of her door handle popping open. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw a figure walk briskly towards them. But of course, Anna wasn't even watching to be careful. "Wait, Anna!"

Anna jumped out of Kristoff's old pick up truck, not hearing her friend call out for her to watch out. Her enthusiastic exit prompted the car door to quickly swing open. With a loud thud, the dark-green and heavy metal whacked a poor, unsuspecting pedestrian right in the knees. Kristoff and Anna heard a quiet groan. The strawberry-blonde haired girl gasped and turned around to apologize, only to have her heart drop as she watched the messenger bag she was carrying hit her victim again – this time in the face. The girl had bent over to clutch her knees, so her head was in direct line of Anna's bag when it flew around. Anna felt blood rush to her face, mortified that she had managed to perform not one, but two, clumsy actions that directly injured a fellow Arendelle student, and on her first day no least.

Anna blubbered out an apology as Kristoff smacked his palm to his forehead. This awkward girl was always the direct opposite of elegant. "Oh! O-oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! A-Are you alright?!" She reached forward to help the girl she had just hit, who was doubled over in apparent pain. Anna couldn't help but notice the girl had the most beautiful hair color she had ever seen – striking platinum blonde, and weaved into an intricate, tight bun. Elsa rubbed a sore spot on the side of her temple with one hand, while the other gingerly touched the bone of her right knee, already feeling a bruise forming. Anna grabbed her by both elbows and half-hoisted her up to a standing position. After she was upright, the blonde slightly jerked her arms out of Anna's hands.

"I-I'm fine." she spoke quietly, turning her head away so that the hand to her temple was half-blocking her assaulter's view of her. But Anna didn't hear her. She didn't hear over the nervous rambling that just sort of started tumbling out of her mouth. Still red in the cheeks, Anna was turned away from Elsa, and half-breathed a rushed string of sentences that the blonde had to strain her brain to understand.

"I am so, so, so sorry! I was just so excited to get out of the car, I mean that's no excuse at all for hitting you, well I mean, I know it wasn't really _me_ that hit you, but really it was more of the car door, but it was my fault. And anyway, like I was saying I was so excited to get out and you know, start really looking around..."

Elsa lowered her hand from her head, and turned her head ever so slightly to glance at the rambling ball of nerves in front of her. A hint of amusement tugged at her lips as she watched Anna animatedly throw her hands around amid explaining.

"...I mean, I've been here before but I'm a freshman and it's my first day and it's move-in day, but _obviously_ you know that already, you're probably moving stuff into your dorm already, or maybe you don't live in a dorm, I know people can live off campus or whatever, and I realize I'm babbling right now I should really stop but I'm so embarrassed and I can't believe I just hurt such a pretty-haired girl… wait, what?"

Elsa stifled a giggle by bringing her hand up to her mouth. "It really is fine, please do not worry about it." Her words were calm, collected and almost regal-sounding. Her voice was like music to Anna's ears. The thought made her face warm up even more.

Anna had looked away from the girl, avoiding her gaze due to utter humiliation. But she took a peek and found the most beautiful blue eyes watching her. Along with those eyes were her beautiful pale skin, impeccable eyebrows and gorgeous pink lips. Both Anna and Elsa looked away the instant they realized their eyes met. The blonde brought her hands up to her chest and started nervously wringing them.

Meanwhile, Kristoff had watched their whole awkward exchange. He tried not to laugh at Anna's predicament. Her face was completely flushed, her hands clutched in small balls, her teeth biting her lower lip a bit. He decided to save her, despite being amused by her situation.

"Anna, help me unload your stuff?"

His voice brought her out of her daze. "Y-yeah sure!" Anna turned toward the Elsa again, fighting her nervous jitters. She wanted to sound normal. "I'm really sorry, again! Um, well I have to go." Anna gave a small wave, and was relieved to find the recipient give her a small, warm smile.

"Goodbye," the blonde gently replied.

"Bye! You should probably get your head wound iced! Wouldn't want the bruise to muss your pretty face!" As Anna turned away to grab boxes and such, she inwardly groaned. _Did I really just tell her she was pretty? ...Again? Smooth, Anna, smooth_.

Anna ducked into North Hall with Kristoff behind her, not realizing that Elsa's eyes were on her retreating form the whole time, a soft smile on her face. _Anna is such a beautiful name_, she thought.

* * *

**TBC**


	2. Hans Suprise

**Previously...**

**Anna turned toward the Elsa again, fighting her nervous jitters. She wanted to sound normal. "I'm really sorry, again! Um, well I have to go." Anna gave a small wave, and was relieved to find the recipient give her a small, warm smile.**

**"Goodbye," the blonde gently replied.**

**"Bye! You should probably get your head wound iced! Wouldn't want the bruise to muss your pretty face!" As Anna turned away to grab boxes and such, she inwardly groaned. _Did I really just tell her she was pretty? ...Again? Smooth, Anna, smooth_.**

**Anna ducked into North Hall with Kristoff behind her, not realizing that Elsa's eyes were on her retreating form the whole time, a soft smile on her face. _Anna is such a beautiful name_, she thought.**

* * *

"Well, I can see you're all excited for the first day of classes, feisty pants." Kristoff reached down and gave his strawberry-blond haired friend a great big bear hug for good luck. He noticed she was surprisingly very alert, considering the time. Anna was usually a late riser, and more disheveled looking. But this morning, her eyes were lit up and perky, her hair was neatly combed down and braided into two pigtails, and she was dressed to impress. _First day of school excitement, huh?_ Kristoff thought with a smirk. She could be so enthusiastic sometimes that it was almost childlike.

"What are you grinning about, creepy Kristoff." Anna accepted the hug, but gave him a playful punch when she saw his smirk. He was obviously making fun of her in his thoughts. Kristoff feigned hurt after her light punch. He contorted his face into a mock frown, and replied,

"I didn't realize you would be so enthusiastic."

"Oh, but it's the first day!" Anna gushed, waving her hands around with excitement. "The start of my college years! The real world! For the first time in forever, I'm independent! I could just skip to class!" She started a silly skip, keeping in pace with Kristoff as they walked to class. The blonde rolled his eyes. He was looking forward to college too, but had the sense to not embarrass himself in public by behaving so obviously.

"Geez, Anna. Everyone is staring." He tilted his head towards the ground as Anna looked around wildly. Sure enough, several people were quizzically staring at them. Some also wore seemingly mocking expressions. "You're going to ruin my chances of me getting into a frat for sure." Anna continued skipping for a while, before stopping because skipping was surprisingly tiring. Also, her shoes were getting a little scruffed up from her clumsy skips. "That's better," Kristoff said when he watched her finally stop. He didn't really mind Anna behaving like that. It was just who she was.

"So, a frat huh?" Anna grinned at Kristoff.

"Yeah, well, I figured it would be nice to have a bunch of frat brothers right off the bat. You know, people I can really call my bros."

Anna could easily see her blonde friend mingling well with other people. He was such a social butterfly, and everyone liked him. She wasn't even exaggerating. She liked him immediately after meeting him. Well, maybe not immediately, because Anna watched him pick his nose and eat the booger. This was in 1st grade, on the first day of school. She was completely repulsed by him, until Kristoff wiped his finger off and then proceeded to offer the young girl a bar of chocolate with a goofy grin on his pudgy face. They were best friends since then.

"You'll completely get into the frat you want, I'm sure of it." She grinned at Kristoff, and the boy smiled back. They always knew what to say to each other. "So, what art class are you going to again?"

Kristoff groaned. There were some distribution requirements for all students, and one of them was art. He knew he should get started on the required courses early, but still, art was seriously not his thing. And he was taking painting out of all things. "It's painting, remember? Using brushes, oil, and paint and stuff. It'll be _super_ fun," he said, the last words dripping with sarcasm."Hey now!" Anna punched him again, a little harder this time. She actually loved art, and Kristoff knew it. So she didn't think she was incredibly good at it – a lot of her drawings of people ended up looking like deformed, grotesque figures, and some of her vases ended up looking like abstract, free form decanters – but she loved it. And sometimes, she would be able to complete a piece that was pretty good. Art allowed her to think creatively, and just make whatever was on her mind. "It won't be that bad," She tried assuring her friend. "You can give all your works to me! I'll treasure them forever!"

Kristoff's frown lessened a bit, but he was still unsure. Maybe he would be better off switching into Anna's drawing class, just so that he could have someone he knew to hang out with. _Painting, drawing… it's all the same isn't it?_

They stopped walked, finally arriving at the Ross Art Center. They pushed through the double glass doors, both of them admiring the beautiful architecture of the building. It really was stunning. All of the buildings on campus were. But this one was more modern, glass everywhere, sharp lines. Anna thought it would be a great place to do art.

"Well, I'm going this way, Kristoff. Have fun in painting! I'll see you at lunch?" Kristoff nodded, before heading off in the other direction. They were situated in classrooms on almost completely opposite sides of the building.

Anna walked down one of the corridors, turning her head left and right again and again, looking for room 129. _126…127…128…ah! Here it is!_ Anna thought excitedly as she finally found the door number clearly marked. Just as she was about to turn and pull the handle, however, a gruff hand grabbed hers. Anna let out a small squeak, then turned to look up at whoever was so rudely touching her. She had to look up quite a bit, because the person was quite tall. When her eyes finally found the stranger's face, she realized with horror that it wasn't a stranger at all. Anna felt her heart stop and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end.

"H-Hans…"

* * *

Anna couldn't scream. She wanted to, but her vocal chords seemed to have stopped working. Right in front of her, in the flesh, was Hans. Handsome, very handsome Hans that she dated back in high school. Her head started swimming with frantic thoughts, and she found herself feeling quite dizzy. She leaned against the wall to support herself, earning herself some strange looks from other students that were trying to enter Room 129 – her own drawing classmates.

Hans smirked at her reaction. He tightened his grip on Anna's hand, and she leapt back and snatched it away. He saw a little fear in her eyes, and felt the need to reprimand her. "Oh, come on, Annaa," He drawled the last word. "Aren't you happy to see me? We did go out together for over a year."

"W-what are you doing here, Hans," Anna whispered, willing her voice to work again. She mentally slapped herself when she heard how weak and _affected_ she sounded. He was going to know how bothered she was by his presence, and she hated that – hated to let him see her in a weakened state.

"What am I doing here?" Hans raised his hand to his face, stroking it in mock thought as his gaze turned away from Anna's petrified face. "Hmmm, I don't quite remember. What was the reason again?" He snapped his vision back to the strawberry-blonde haired girl. He evilly grinned when he saw her visibly stiffen up at that. "I go here, Anna dear."

_Go here?!_ Anna's inner voice screamed. That wasn't possible. She had only told her closest friends where she was going to attend college, explicably so that Hans wouldn't follow her. How did he find out? Who told him? Anna's thoughts buzzed around in her head as her ex-boyfriend looked on amusedly. After a few moments, someone behind the both of them cleared his throat to gain attention.

"Excuse me, but class will be starting soon. Are you coming in, or staying out?"

Anna's mouth gaped a bit open. The professor raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat again. She snapped out of her momentary daze, and redness rose to her cheeks. "Y-yes, sorry professor. I'm coming in." Anna grasped the handle again and pushed the door open. The rest of the class was already seated, some twenty-five or so students. Hans followed her in, much to Anna's horror. They were even in the same class. He was following her – no, _stalking_ her. As she sat down on a stool, she gulped hard. Her college life was _not_ starting off well at all.

* * *

The morning of the first day of classes, Elsa woke up with the sun. She was an early riser, for sure, but seemed to awaken from her dreams especially early that morning. She got dressed, did her hair, and made sure that nothing was out of place – that she looked completely put together. But she didn't _feel_ quite as put together as she usually did. Since painfully bumping into a certain strawberry-blonde haired freshmen the previous day, Elsa had found herself unexplainably wondering what the girl was up to. She had to pull herself deep out of her thoughts. Even while reading a novel at Oaken Library, which usually meant being completely absorbed in the book, Elsa couldn't help wondering.

Elsa read a book until she had to leave for her first class of the day, which was at Ross. Ross was on the other side of campus, near North Hall and the Olaf dining hall. Elsa lived in Castle Hall, and was a ten to fifteen minute stroll away. She packed up her books, stuffing them into her bag as she left her dorm room. She wondered what she even needed for her first class – she had never taken art before.

The summer air was warm on her skin, and Elsa bathed in the bright sunlight as she walked toward Ross. Though she particularly loved the crisp weather of winter, it was nice to feel the warmth. And, it was not hot enough for her to sweat, which she liked. On the way to class, she passed by several familiar faces, people she was friendly enough with, but not friends with. It was that way with most people she knew. Elsa wasn't really one to make close friends. She amicably greeted them all with a small, polite smile, and continued on her way.

As she passed by Olaf dining hall, she noticed two familiar figures walking at a slower pace in front of her. Realizing who they were, Elsa immediately slowed her walk down, so that she wouldn't cross paths with them. Instead, she walked twenty yards behind them at the same speed. Elsa watched as one of them started to skip. She hoped the girl wouldn't trip over her own feet.

"Have fun in painting!" The girl called out to the boy. Elsa held her breath, waiting to see which way Anna was walking, and exhaled when she realized Anna was going the opposite direction as her. She couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed. Pushing her thoughts away, she concentrated on getting to class. It would be starting soon, and she very much disliked being tardy. The boy, whom she overheard as Kristoff, walked into a classroom. Room 104. They were in the same painting class. _If only Anna and him had chosen each others classes…_

* * *

**_What do you think?_**

**TBC**


	3. The Past Is In The Past

As soon as her professor gave the class his okay to leave, Anna bolted out of the room, not stopping to look back as she heard Hans call her name. She had not been able to concentrate during the whole three hour drawing class, and it certainly did not help that their first in-class assignment was to draw the person next to them. Anna had sat in the corner, and Hans was the only person sitting next to her. She had to endure the painful task of staring at his annoying good-looking facial features in order to get a sketch done. Above all, it made her skin crawl when he had to draw her. His eyes lustfully glazed over her whole body, not just the face he needed to use to draw. She felt as if he was undressing her with his eyes, and each minute became more unbearable than the one before it. It was terribly difficult to focus.

She rushed through the corridor and to the next one where she knew Kristoff was just finishing up class as well. She sincerely hoped his first day at painting had gone better than hers at drawing. _Room 103, was it? Or was it 104._ Anna could not remember. Thankfully, she didn't have to. As students filed out of both classrooms, she caught a glimpse of her tall, blonde best friend. "Kristoff!" She yelled out desperately. The boy looked up, shocked at the urgency of her voice. He was equally surprised to see the frightened expression etched onto her face. Anna was in a completely different mood than when they had parted.

"Anna?"

Kristoff navigated through the other students, and grabbed Anna by the arm. They walked toward the exit of Ross. Anna thought she might have seen a glimpse of platinum blonde hair out of the corner of her eye, but she was too distressed to stay and confirm. She let Kristoff guide her to the doors. Thankfully, it was noon, and most people were on their way to lunch. The coast was nearly clear, and certainly clear enough to talk without fear of eavesdropping. Anna plopped herself down on a stone bench just outside the art center. She patted the seat next to her with a sullen look in her eyes, motioning for Kristoff to do the same. He complied, and scooched toward her.

She did not look fine. Her eyes were wide and gaping. Anna twiddled her fingers together, and she was becoming a nervous bundle. But not in a rambling kind of way - a frightened way. Kristoff spoke softly, and tried to keep the mood light. "Whats wrong?" He asked, holding his hand out to her, palm up, enticing her to speak her mind. Kristoff rarely saw Anna like this, and when he did, he knew it was something very serious.

Anna grasped his inviting hand and clasped onto it tightly. "It's Hans." The blonde's eyebrows shot up at the name. It was certainly the last thing he had ever thought would come out of her mouth. A tinge of anger appeared in his eyes as well. After a few moments he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, indicating for her to continue. A stray tear dripped on to her face, as she hesitated to let the next few words hang in the air.

"It's okay, Anna, everything will be alright. Just tell me what is going on, and I'll fix it."

The strawberry-blonde haired girl uttered a small sob. "He's here, Kristoff. At Arendelle. He's _followed_ me here!" She couldn't hold her cries in anymore, and finally let her tears flow freely. Anna felt her friend grab her gruffly into a comfortable hug. She grasped the back of his clothes tightly.

"He's here? I can't believe it… that _asshole_," Kristoff hissed under his breath. He rubbed small circles on her back, and brought his other hand to stroke her head.

Hans had gone to Kristoff and Anna's high school. They were all the same year, and then Hans got himself kicked out of school right at the end of their third year. His family moved them all out of state. Kristoff had heard Hans started attending some sort of boarding school for delinquent kids, Southern Isles Prep, or something like that. But, none of them had ever seen him since then. Not until now at least.

"Where did you see him?"

Anna breathed a shaky sigh. She had nearly calmed down enough to sound completely coherent. She pulled away from Kristoff's bear arms, and placed her hands back in her lap, twiddling nervously again. "In my drawing class…he must have known somehow what classes I'm taking."

The blonde couldn't believe his ears. The side-burned asshole was really overstepping his boundaries. Especially after what happened back at high school between him and Anna. But still, he had to try and comfort his best friend. "He's just trying to unnerve you, Anna. Trust me, I won't let him hurt you."

She nodded. What had happened to her before was in the past. He couldn't hurt her here if she didn't allow it to happen, if she was smarter this time… If she was less naive. "I know… it was just a shock, you know?"

Kristoff nudged her, motioning for her to stand up with him. "Let's walk to lunch? Maybe some desserts will cheer you up." Anna stood up slowly, gathering herself and her bag, trying to look composed. She tried to put on a smile, trying to get back that enthusiasm she had to displayed that very morning. It was tough, but she managed a small smile. Desserts sounded really good at that point. Anna linked her arm with her best friend's arm, which was always a bit difficult since he was so much taller than him. Kristoff complied, even lowering his arm a big so that it wasn't such a stretch for her.

"You know, we can check the rosters for all your classes. You should just switch out of all the ones he's in as well."

Anna nodded in reply. "I think I can manage if he's in my other classes, they are all lectures. But drawing… if I have to stay still and let him watch me with those disgusting eyes of his, I might just puke." She shivered at the memory of the class she just ended. "Maybe I'll switch into painting with you?"

Kristoff glanced down at his friend. She still looked a bit shaken up, but was much better than she was before. He grinned at her. "That would be nice, wouldn't it? We could both paint reindeer!"

Anna scoffed. "Reindeer?! Aren't you supposed to paint still life? There are no reindeer here, Kristoff."

The blonde frowned. That was true. "Fine… we can just paint each other I guess. That's not nearly as interesting," Kristoff stated matter-of-factly. She stomped on his foot, and pointed a slender finger at his nose. He went cross-eyed to look at it.

"Just you wait, Kristoff! I'll be the best painting model or whatever, you'll be using me for _all_ your stupid paintings, you Neanderthal!" Anna exclaimed, as they both headed through the doors to enter the dining hall.

* * *

Elsa sat in her favorite chair at Oaken Library, trying to immerse herself into a book. It was an assigned book for her advanced English literature class, but she was already halfway through it. That seemed to happen a lot. It didn't matter how she was particularly feeling that day - happy, sad, angry, whatever – she loved to read anyway. This particularly story was called "The Snow Queen", by Hans Anderson.

_What a beautiful story_, she thought to herself as she flipped the page to the end of the chapter. Elsa grabbed a snowflake patterned silver bookmark, a present from her mother, and slipped it in between the pages to mark her spot. She closed the book, and simply sat in the leather chair, legs tucked in beside her. Her thoughts wandered to all the assignments she had to do for her other classes. More reading for another English class, a discussion post for History, and a painting.

_Painting…I wonder if I should try and make friends with that big blonde guy._ She shook her head. _Friends? What makes you think you can make friends anyway? Three years you've been here… and you're lucky enough to call Rapunzel your friend._

Elsa did have multiple _acquaintances_ that she chatted too, had meals with, and even hung out with on the weekends. But she wouldn't call them real friends. The only person she found herself able to open up to completely was Rapunzel. She made a mental note to ask the girl to hang out later.

_If you had least tried to talk to him… maybe you could talk to that girl again._

Elsa's thoughts drifted to her memories of that girl. She felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks. _Ugh, stop acting like that, you don't even know Anna._ It had already been a week since classes started, and she had not been able to see much of Anna, let alone _talk_ to her. In truth, Elsa had tried to plan her walks to the art center so that she could set sights on her and Kristoff, but there had been some unfortunate hitches in her plan. She would get distracted by a classmate wanting to talk literature, or a professor asking her to be a tutor, etc. The whole week she had gone to drawing class three times, and had only been able to get a glimpse of Anna's beautiful strawberry-blonde hair.

_Such beautiful hair. It looks so soft too._ Elsa remembered when Anna had called her a pretty-haired girl. She was sure that she turned beet-red, but determined not to let any indicator of her glee show through, she merely replied that it was fine that Anna bumped into her. _Really now, you should have at least introduced yourself, you coward._

She bet Anna had tons of friends. Probably even more admirers, she thought darkly. A girl that was as bubbly and beautiful as Anna wouldn't want to be near a sullen, icy person like her anyway, she thought.

Elsa glanced up at the clock, and then proceeded to stare out into open space again. Just now aware of the time, her eyes widened, and she spun around quickly to look at the clock again. _Oh. My. God! _She scrambled up out of the chair while hastily stuffed her books back into her bag. She rushed out as soon as she could out of the library, all the while muttering under her breath about being late to history class, and something about not believing she spend a quarter of an hour thinking about a certain girl. Several other library frequenters looked on as Elsa left in hurry. They doubted they had ever seen her so flustered.


	4. Painting

The previously enthusiastic and spirited atmosphere of Arendelle College was just starting to settle down by the end of the first two weeks of classes. Many of the freshmen were no longer wide-eyed and chip, at least not as much as they had been before. The realities of coursework, parties and responsibilities were visibly taking a toll - not only on the the new college class, but also on the upperclassmen who returned to school after the break, refreshed and recharged. The gleam and glamor of college mostly lost its sparkle...

Especially to Anna. The strawberry-blonde haired girl, who was usually bright and sunny in personality, had gradually turned duller and gloomier with each progressing day. She eventually became quieter, even in the company of her newly-formed friends. They had also noticed her inching change in demeanor, though knew from the looks they received from Kristoff that it was best to keep silent about it.

It was all Hans' fault. No, he had not had the audacity to sign up for any of Anna's three other classes. But he stubbornly stayed in Drawing 101, smirking every time he saw the pained expression she wore when she met his gaze. Sometimes they would be drawing partners in class, instructed to sketch each other for practice. Anna's eyes practically begged him to stay away from her, and on several accounts she bravely snapped at him to leave her alone.

Hans was not so willing to give up though. His life had been upturned by Anna's decision to tell the world the nature of their relationship back in high school. He was not so forgiving.

Anna tried to switch out of drawing and into painting with Kristoff, but to of no avail. Painting was extremely popular, much to Kristoff's surprise, and the wait list was at least 10 people long. She begged the professor, but he had only smiled sadly and said,

"Sorry dear, you'll have to find some other way."

It was 3'o clock in the afternoon, and Anna was finished with her classes for the day. Since it was Friday, she figured she would head back to her room, change, and then go out for a nice night out with the girls. Or, at least try to. But she had to try and make a decision about what to do about drawing. The deadline for course changes was that day at 5.

Anna stared at the course catalog she had in front of her, moving her eyes back and forth trying to find a class that suited her schedule and her interests. _Anthropology? History? What about Maths?_ She just couldn't decide. She also knew that she had to keep whatever decision she mad on the down low, just in case Hans figured out and tried to switch in with her _again_.

As she muttered under her breath about Hans, and something about ruining one of her most interesting classes, she heard heavy footsteps behind her. She recognized the weight of those feet, and spun around quickly to meet the person's gaze.

"Kristoff!" Anna leapt up to her feet, rising from the stone bench she had just been sitting on. She gave him a big hug, as if she hadn't seen him in a week, when really it had just been a day. The blonde gave her a goofy big grin, and reached his hand over to muss up her hair when they broke apart.

"Heya, Anna. How's class searching going?" He watched Anna's smile dip into a scowl. She clearly was having troubles. She told him to leave the whole class searching issue to her, to not bother with her troubles. But Kristoff didn't leave it alone.

"Honestly, it's not going so great." Anna huffed as she sat back down, redirecting her eyes back to the course catalog. She had poured over the contents so many times that she was getting kind of sick of it. _Stupid course catalog_, she thought. As she flipped through to the next page, her eyes found their way _again_ to the painting course Kristoff was in.

The blonde watched her sigh. Then, he reached into his own backpack and pulled out a pink sheet of paper before slipping it in front of Anna. She looked back to Kristoff with a confused expression in her eyes. Kristoff encouragingly nudged it toward her.

_Course Registration Form_, it read at the top. All her information was filled out in Kristoff's chicken-scratch handwriting. Where it said _Course_, it read _Painting_. "I took the liberty of filling it out for you."

"Painting? You know the professor won't let me in." Kristoff gave her his goofy grin again, the one he reserved for her and Sven.

"Yeah well, I talked to her again. She agreed to let you in if I dropped it instead. She won't give the spot to someone else."

"We talked about this already, what are you going to take then?" Anna tried to give her best friend the piece of paper back, but he just waved his hands through the air in dismissal.

"Just don't worry about it okay? I'll just transfer into your drawing class, since the other art classes are full. It'll be fine. AND, you can let me," Kristoff enthusiastically pointed his two thumbs at his chest, "deal with Hans. I'll make sure that loser gets the message that you don't want anything to do with him."

Anna could feel her emotions bubbling deep inside her, and warm tears threaten to spill out of her eyes. She laughed as she tried to wipe away the wetness. She knew her best friend was super uncomfortable with her crying, so she just put on a grateful smile. "Thank you, Kristoff. Really. You've saved me again."

"Damn right I did. You owe me a bag of carrots," Kristoff said softly as he playfully punched her shoulder. He would do all he could to try and make everything alright.

* * *

Elsa hummed softly, so quietly that only she could hear herself, as she raised her arm to splash some color onto her canvas. Painting was a lot harder than she imagined, and she struggled with the creative side of herself. But, she thought she really was getting better at the whole art thing. Sometimes she painted scenes imagined from her favorite books, or sometimes she tried her hand at beautiful wintery scenes, since winter was her favorite season. She knew as she was now she wouldn't be able to capture the hauntingly beautiful emotions that winter seemed to arouse in her. But, she tried anyway with her simple watercolor paints and the few painting techniques she had managed to learn from class.

She glanced at the clock, and was shocked to see that it was already near that time of the day. Looking around the room, she saw that students had already arrived at the room, and were setting up their own easels and canvases, readying for painting class that day. Elsa had arrived early because she woke up with the sun streaming through her sheer curtains, and couldn't manage to fall back asleep.

So she dressed up, went to her classroom and indulged herself into her newly forming hobby. It was just a minute until class time when the professor waltzed into the room with a large smile on her face. Gerda, as she insisted the class call her, cheerfully greeting each and every one of her students. Elsa politely greeted her back, but was not comfortable called her just by her first name yet, and continued to called her by _professor_. She did not like being overly friendly with people, let alone her instructors.

As Gerda started talking about types of canvases, Elsa noticed the blonde-haired boy named Kristoff was not in his regular seat. _Sleeping in?_ She mused. She rather enjoyed his humorous presence during class, even if she did not ever speak with him.

Just then, the doors to the classroom flew open with a loud bang, and a frazzled-looking girl rushed in, nearly tripping over the closest easel to the door. Gerda stopped talking, and an uncomfortable silence hushed the room. Elsa snapped her head up from the loud noise, before letting out a small gasp that she seriously wished no one else had heard.

It was Anna. Anna, as in the girl Elsa hadn't been able to get her mind off of.

"I-I'm sooo sorry professor! I just switched into this class on Friday, but I didn't have any of the materials so I ordered them, but _of course_ the student center only just emailed me about my package 5 minutes ago so I had to rush to get them and then I ran here and..." Anna noticed everyone's eyes on her, and proceeded to blush a scarlet red.

Gerda merely smiled, and motioned for her to take a seat, the only empty seat, which was across the room from Elsa. The blonde felt a little disappointed. Elsa watched as Anna shuffled over to the stool, and barely noticed the professor talking again, this time about brushstrokes and colors. As Anna situated herself in the little corner of the classroom, she felt as if someone was looking at her.

The strawberry-blonde haired girl jerked her head up in response, and instantly met eyes with Elsa's. The older girl gulped, and flinched her gaze away. She hadn't even noticed she had been staring. Elsa silently cursed herself as she felt a blush coming on. She hastily picked up a brush again and started dabbed at the canvas, only to realize in her nervousness she picked up a brush without any paint on it.

For the rest of class, Elsa refused to even glance toward Anna's direction, for fear of being caught looking. She stared straight at her easel, trying to stop her heart from furiously pounding at her chest. She swore she would get caught, just from the loud thumping.

If only Elsa had looked Anna's way once that day, she would have seen that a tinge of red had also graced Anna's features during the whole 3 hour class.


	5. Be The Good Girl

After class finished, Elsa hastily grabbed all of her brushes and paints, trying to pack up quickly so she could hurry back to the safety of her dorm room. Spending three hours with her rapidly beating heart was just too much to handle - Elsa really needed to relax, perhaps by reading another novel. Just as she stuffed the last brush into her bag, she rose to her feet in a flash. Much too quickly.

To her horror, the girl Elsa was trying to avoid was right in front of her when she stood up, and they knocked heads rather painfully. Elsa nearly tumbled back into her seat, but managed to catch herself as she reached out to grab a hold of whatever was closest. That happened to be Anna.

"Ouch!" The younger girl exclaimed as they both clutched their heads. Anna rubbed her forehead thoroughly, as if trying to smooth out the pain using her fingers. She felt a bump coming on.

"I'm so sorry Anna!" Elsa brought her hand up to her mouth with a gasp. The name had just tumbled out without her realizing it. She squeezed her eyes tight, completely embarrassed that she uttered out Anna's name. They hadn't even been introduced to each other for gods sake.

_Well now she's going to now how much of a creeper you are. Damn mouth!_

Elsa jumped a bit at the soft touch she suddenly felt on her head, right where she had just banged it. Opening her eyes again, she noticed Anna smiling at her, petting the sore spot near her forehead with the lightest strokes.

"You know my name!" Anna chirped gleefully. She smiled even wider as she observed Elsa blush a bit more. _This girl is so beautiful_, Anna thought. After a few moments of petting, she realized that the girl didn't even make a sound. They just stared into each other's wide eyes as time seemed to stop for them.

_Oh my god, she's looking right at me. Such pretty eyes! Icy blue, but the softest gaze... Oh my god! I've basically just assaulted her with my petting this whole time!_

Anna jerked her hand away and blushed. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me!" She failed to notice Elsa take in a big gulp of air as soon as they stopped touching. Apparently Elsa held her breath when she was nervous.

The blonde brought both hands to her chest and started wringing them together - a nervous habit of hers. But she tried to remain poised, bringing out her usual demeanor that earned her the nickname _The Ice Queen_. "Its perfectly fine. In fact, I should be apologizing to you. I wasn't looking where I was going, and now it seems both of us will have bumps tomorrow."

"Bumps? What bumps?!" Anna was confused.

Elsa pointed to the red spot on Anna's forehead and chuckled a bit. "Your head wound, Anna."

_Oh god, it sounds amazing when she says my name. Say it again! ...wait, what?_

Elsa waited for a reply, some sort of response from the younger girl. But it seemed as if she was in a world of her own, in the clouds somewhere. Elsa smiled softly. This girl was very, very interesting.

"Annaaa," she cooed. Her confidence was slowly building, and she no longer felt totally embarrassed about letting it slip that she knew the girls name. Anna didn't seem to mind anyways.

Elsa was able to regain Anna's attention, but not before grasping one of her shoulders and giving it a soft shake. "W-wha- oh! Oh yes, my head will be fine! I'm more worried about you!" Anna gazed at Elsa's flawless skin, so smooth and pale. "Your complexion is so fair! I'm sure you bruise easy!" At this, the older girl blushed very hard. Anna's eyes widened. Without even meaning to she had managed to utter such a suggestive statement.

_Oh god, you're going to freak her out, Anna!_ Trying to cover herself, she did what she did best - talk. "D-did I say bruise easy? Hah! Hah! What I meant was that, you know, you're so pale it'll be more obvious right? I mean, I'm not saying you're _super_ pale, you're definitely not vampire pale, or malnutritioned pale. Not that I'm saying you're not _not_ malnutritioned, I think you look quite healthy!...oh god, please just let me die now."

Elsa let herself laugh at Anna's internal struggle. The strawberry blonde haired girl was so adorable when she was flustered, and Elsa did not have the heart to tease her for such a trait. They met gazes again, and this time, Elsa summoned the courage to speak again.

"My name is Elsa."

_Just play it cool, Elsa. You can make friends. This girl is special, you can't just ignore here like everyone else._

"Woah," Anna breathed. "That is a super pretty name, and it suits you perfectly!" Realizing that also might have sounded a bit like overstepping boundaries, she gulped and looked to the older girl for some sort of response.

But Elsa only gave her the warmest, most encouraging, beautiful smile Anna felt like she had ever seen.

"Thank you, Anna." Elsa replied gracefully. "I think your name is very beautiful."

"So beautiful..." She replied. _You're so beautiful_. "Er...I-I mean, thanks!"

_Should I go for it? Would she dislike me, just like all the others?_ Elsa felt so insecure at that moment. She wanted nothing more than to have a conversation with Anna, but her mind seemed to fail her. In an instant, her mind blanked, and all she could think about were Anna's physical features. Her vibrant hair, the multitude of freckles, the smooth skin of her jaw... _Stop it_, Elsa silently reprimanded herself. _You'll scare away another one_.

"So, do you want to walk?" Anna looked to her expectantly. The older girl looked around, realizing that everyone had already left the classroom. It was just the two of them alone in the room. Elsa was surprised - it was like when she was with Anna she became completely oblivious to the rest of the world. Kind of like when she read a novel and became engrossed in the story that time both sped up and stopped.

"Yes, sure! Sorry, I didn't realize everyone had left already, you must be hungry and want to go to lunch." They started walking side-by-side out the Ross art center, making their way towards the dining hall. Elsa tried to keep their pace on the slow side, knowing that Anna would leave her to have lunch with that Kristoff boy as usual.

Anna laughed. She was sure Elsa had already apologized enough that day. "What are you sorry about? I'm glad we knocked heads. It gives me an excuse to try and become friends with you."

"Friends?" Elsa froze a bit, and Anna noticed.

_Oh god, she doesn't want to be your friend you idiot! Why would she anyways, Elsa is so beautiful, and kind, and probably super smart... you're just Anna._

"W-well I just thought maybe we could be? You know we're in the same drawing class and all, and we've already kind of met before. I guess you wouldn't want to though, I'm sure you have plenty of other people to hang around besides dumb freshmen. You know what? It was a mis-"

Elsa grabbed Anna's forearm gently to stop her rambling. The younger girl gulped as she felt the other girl's cool, slender fingers put pressure on her. She swore her heart skipped a beat, and prayed to god Elsa didn't notice the rise in blood pressure.

"You... you would like to be my friend?" Elsa watched as Anna's expression turned to one of confusion.

"Well, of course! Why wouldn't I?"

"Most people don't think highly of me. Sometimes I appear cold, ambivalent...icy."

_Icy? There nothing icy about you... except for those gorgeous icy blue eyes of yours._

"...Anna?"

"Huh?! I didn't say that aloud did I?" She looked at Elsa with alarm, but soon became relieved. If she had blurted that part out loud, Elsa would definitely have reacted differently. Instead, the older girl was looking at her with complete adoration.

"No, you just dazed off for a second. Not changing your mind about being my friend, I hope?" Elsa half-joked, still feeling a little insecure that Anna had been so forward about befriending her. Elsa would love to be friends with Anna. She would also love to be something _more_ with her as well, but that wasn't possible.

_She doesn't like you in that way_, Elsa thought darkly.

"No of course not, silly!" Anna nudged her in the arm. "I think you're great! In fact, I can't believe you're even talking to me right now. You're an upperclassman, and I'm just a freshmen, and I'm just me, and you're so...you."

_Pretty and amazing_, Anna finished in her head.

Anna and Elsa both stopped in front of the dining hall, both a little disappointed that her walk was over. Anna wanted to invite the older girl to eat with her for lunch, along with Kristoff, but before she could say anything, Elsa cut in.

"Just you? I don't think there's anything just about you." Elsa blushed a bit. _I can't believe I just said that to someone I barely met. She's going to think you're a freak._ "I-I have to go meet someone," the blonde lied. Giving Anna one last look and a small, shy wave goodbye, Elsa dashed off in the other direction.

* * *

"Elsa!"

The blonde turned around toward the sound of the familiar voice. It was Rapunzel.

"Hello Rapunzel, how are you?"

"I'm great! What about you?" Just then, Elsa's stomach growled. It was 2 o'clock, and she hadn't even eaten yet. In fact, she didn't even realize how much time had past - she had been lost in her own thoughts. Rapunzel smirked. "Hungry much?"

Elsa blushed. "Yeah, apparently." The other girl grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her up the stairs to their floor.

"Come on! I have some sandwiches in my room you can eat. Then we can catch up! We haven't talked since we got back to school! I want to know everything." As they entered Rapunzel's room, Elsa recognized most of the floral decorations from back when they were roommates. "Here!" Rapunzel threw the platinum blonde-haired girl a chicken caesar wrap, then plopped herself down on the bed.

Elsa slowly tore open the sandwich. "Nothing has really been going on with my life. Same as usual."

The other girl smirked. "Nothing? I'm sure that's not right. There has to be something. Interesting classes? Interesting people? Someone you like?"

Elsa choked at the last question as Rapunzel's grin grew even wider. _I knew it_, she thought. Elsa grabbed some water and chugged it. She hoped the other girl didn't notice the perfect timing of her response. She glanced at Rapunzel, but found that it was too late. Her old roommate was positively glowing with excitement. She knew that face - Rapunzel needed details.

"Don't look at me like that, Punzie. It's _nobody_."

"Well obviously you don't think so. Who is it? Is he in your literature class?" Elsa refused to look back up at the other girl. They were approaching a topic that she was thoroughly uncomfortable speaking about, even to her closest friend on campus.

"Punzie..." Elsa attempted to make her realize that she was uncomfortable. But, Rapunzel wasn't having it.

"Oh come on! I'm your best friend! So, who is he?"

Elsa fiddled with the plastic wrapper in her hands - all that remained of her sandwich. The plastic sheet crinkled loudly for a few moments as she considered how to reply.

_Should I tell her the truth? Would she accept it? Or, do I continue hiding myself away?_

"It's not even a _he_ is it?" Rapunzel asked inquisitively, head cocked sideways. She watched as Elsa snapped her head up in surprise, eyes wide open at the spot-on observation.

"How did you know! Wait, more importantly, you _can't_ tell anyone this! You can't tell anyone I like girls!" She grabbed her old roommate by both wrists, clearly terrified about the truth leaking out. Rapunzel's eyes widened with surprise. She didn't expect Elsa to ever get so aggressive with her. She didn't know what the big deal was anyway, she had suspected Elsa didn't swing toward guys for a while and she was always fine with it. Still, Elsa was her friend, so she knew she would do as Elsa wished - even if that meant keeping her sexual orientation a secret.

"Jeez Elsa, ouch!" She wrangled her wrists out of Elsa's grasps. _Goodness, she's strong_. "What's the big deal? Are you not out of the closet or something?"

Sadness instantly crept into Elsa's eyes. _Oops. I must have touched on a sore subject_. Elsa shook her head slowly. "No one is supposed to know."

"Well, why not?!" Rapunzel waved her hands around, exasperated. "If that's who you are, you should embrace it!"

"It's not that easy Punzie."

"It's not even a big secret anyway! I knew you liked girls from like, day 3 of being your friend!"

Elsa was dumbfounded. She had known Rapunzel for three years, but it had been that obvious the whole time? She thought she kept it under wraps well. Rapunzel must have seen the confusion on her face, because she went on to explain herself.

"You never even _looked_ at any guys, let alone dated them. I always asked you if there was someone you liked and you'd just avoid the topic entirely. And I saw the way your eyes practically lingered on girls. Seriously, it was pretty obvious. Anyway, what is keeping you from coming out anyway? It's 2014, most people are okay with it!"

Elsa wrung her hands together in front of her chest. She felt all her muscles tensing up, anxious at the predicament she was in. She felt exposed, naked, and under a light. Rapunzel watched her, and with every passing second realized that she really did bring up a bad topic, something traumatizing.

_Be the good girl... be the good girl... be the good girl you always have to be. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel._ Elsa chanted in her mind. She started breathing in and out, quicker and quicker. Soon, she was almost hyperventilating, gasping for air that she just couldn't inhale.

"Elsa!" Rapunzel grabbed her by the shoulders, trying to shake her out of the other girl's onset of anxiety. "Elsa, relax! Deep breaths, come on, breathe in... breathe out..." She continued the last two phrases for the next minute until Elsa was nearly back to normal again.

A very uncomfortable silence fell over the two of them.

"Are you alright, Elsa?" She merely nodded weakly. She couldn't find the words to apologize or explain herself. Elsa didn't even know what really came over her, she had never acted that hysterically before. It must have been because Rapunzel was the first person who ever knew she was queer.

Elsa opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Her friend seemed to understand, and just gave her a big hug. "It's okay Elsa, I get it. We can talk about it when you're ready." Elsa felt herself relax into Rapunzel's arms over the course of the next few minutes. She almost cried, but managed to keep her tears in. _You'll never see me cry_, Elsa vowed. She certainly wished that no one would.

Rapunzel stayed silent, but Elsa knew she wouldn't be able to for long. She had to explain herself, and she supposed coming out clean to her best friend was the best way to come out anyway.

"I've known since I was 10."

"Wow, ten years old?" Elsa nodded.

"I told my parents, but they were unsupportive. In fact, they hated me after that. Called me disgusting. So I kept it in, trying to pretend to be the good girl I always had to be. I've just been keeping it in... keeping it in until now. I guess I've been keeping it in for so long that when you found out, I freaked. I'm sorry Punzie."

Rapunzel smiled at her. She felt honored to be hearing such a personal confession from Elsa - Elsa, who never really told stories, or personal anythings. "It's alright Elsa. I'm the one who should be sorry. I basically gave you a panic attack."

Elsa felt herself smile back. For once, she felt okay with herself the way she was. And, she knew she was fine, despite what her parents said. But her parents had shut her in for so long, Elsa almost began to believe it was wrong to feel for girls. Old habits would die hard, she knew. But maybe she could be herself? Just let go?

"If you don't mind me asking, Elsa..." Rapunzel grinned mischievously. "Who _is_ this girl you like?"

The platinum blonde-haired girl swallowed thickly.

_How do I describe such a beauty?_


	6. I've Got You

The two girls made a habit of walking to lunch together after their drawing class ended. It only happened twice a week, but Anna grew to look forward to the short time they spent together not in class. The younger girl invited Elsa to eat with her multiple times, but so far, Elsa had always refused, claiming she was needed elsewhere. In actuality, Elsa was not ready yet to meet Anna's other friends, to socialize with a group of strangers. No, she was not yet confident enough.

So, until she became comfortable enough to do so, she would just value the walks they had together.

Sometimes Anna enthusiastically recounted her past couple days, all the work she had, silly things Kristoff did, and the joys of chocolate. Other times, she asked Elsa questions about herself, like what she was majoring in, what her favorite color was, and where she lived. Elsa always responded politely, but she far preferred when Anna talked, rambling with her lovely voice, face brightening as she thought of food and chocolate. Elsa would watch her lips turn up into a beaming smile, her blue eyes sparkle, and her hair shine. She didn't know when it happened, but Elsa's slight crush on Anna had really turned into huge adoration and enamorment.

But Elsa would never tell her that. She didn't want to destroy whatever relationship they had now. It was perfect the way it was for now. And besides, she didn't think Anna swung her way anyways - Elsa was pretty sure Anna was dating Kristoff. The thought gave her a sharp pang in the heart. Of course the most perfect girl in the world wouldn't fancy girls.

"Elsa?" Anna's voice interrupted her thoughts. Elsa swung her head around to meet the gaze of the younger girl. Apparently she said something that required a reply. Elsa had been too engrossed in her thoughts to notice. Oh no, now Anna would think she hadn't been paying attention.

"Sorry! I didn't hear you!" Elsa nervously wrung her hands together in front of her chest. Anna watched her pale fingers carefully, a worried expression slowly gracing Anna's features. She didn't really like it when Elsa got anxious. She noticed that Elsa had the nervous habit of playing with her hands.

"Are you okay? I was just asking if you would like to have lunch with me today?" Anna saw Elsa grip her hands tighter. The younger girl frowned. Anna asked Elsa every single time they walked over to lunch together, but the older girl would just give a polite no, and bound off in the direction toward her dorm. Did Elsa really just walk Anna over to the dining halls after every drawing class just to go back to her room afterwards? Did she not want to eat with her?

"Sorry Anna, I have to be somewhere." Elsa apologized and met Anna's gaze before giving her a slight wave goodbye. "Have fun with your friends!" The blonde-haired woman turned around to walk back to Castle Hall when she suddenly felt a firm grasp on her wrist. The warm touch of Anna's soft hand.

Startled, Elsa looked down at her wrist, before snapping her head back up to Anna's face. Anna noticed Elsa staring, and tore her hand away in surprise. She hadn't meant to reach out for Elsa like that. What was she thinking? Her hand acted of its own accord, and now Elsa was looking to her expectantly.

The younger girl gulped. What excuse did she have?

"U-urg-gug-" Anna spluttered out a string of incoherent sounds. Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Oh god," Anna exhaled as she brought her hands up to her face to hide the appearing blush. What was _that_? The unintelligible and unattractive noises she made in place of an excuse. "Please just let me die now."

Elsa, on the other hand, was very amused. She giggled for a moment, before bringing a hand up to her face to stop it. But Anna heard, and she turned an even deeper shade of red. "Oh, Anna. You're adorable."

Anna peeked at the older girl behind the holes between her fingers. "Huh?"

Elsa smiled kindly at her. "What did you want to say, Anna?"

Oh god, Anna thought. She loved the way Elsa said her name. So softly, gently, like something precious.

"Er, well I just wanted to ask why you never accept my lunch invitations. Do you not want to eat with me? Do I annoy you? You know, on second thought I probably do. I mean you probably have other people you'd rather be wit-"

Elsa reached down and grasped Anna's hand firmly. "No," she said gently, staring deep into Anna's eyes. "No, it's nothing like that. It's me really. I don't know how to act with other people... people other than you." The older looked away, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She wondered if Anna would like her less, knowing she was the exact opposite of a socialite. Elsa shut her eyes tightly, afraid to look, afraid to hear how the other girl was going to react. Would she laugh? Would she judge her like the others?

Instead, Elsa felt Anna's hand give her a warm squeeze. She looked up to find her smiling radiantly at her. "Is that all?"

Elsa gulped and nodded back.

"Oh Elsa. You don't have to worry about that. Thank goodness it's only that. I thought.. I thought maybe.."

"You thought what, Anna?"

Anna reluctantly tore her hand away from Elsa's and played nervously with her left braid. The older girl could not stop staring a nervous expression graced Anna's features. Her blue eyes sparkled with anxiety, but they were beautiful nonetheless. Really, everything about Anna was gorgeous, Elsa thought.

"I thought maybe you didn't want to be friends with me."

The thought startled Elsa. There was nobody on campus that Elsa would rather be with, any day. Anna was just so wonderful to her, so kind. Warm, like the sun, and gentle. "No!" Elsa blurted out, startling Anna a bit. The outburst was the loudest thing she had ever heard from the older girl. "I love being friends with you." Elsa blushed.

Anna couldn't control herself. Beaming, she leapt forward and gave Elsa the biggest hug. Anna didn't know why, but Elsa's confession made her stomach flutter and her heart beat just a tad faster. Elsa was so adorable. Anna counted all her lucky stars for being able to make friends with someone as great as her.

Elsa responded back after a while, loosening up her stiff body as she pulled her hands up to touch Anna's back. She felt herself relaxing into Anna's touch, smelling the scent from the other girl's neck. Elsa felt herself blush. If Anna could hear the things Elsa was thinking about her... Elsa felt so safe in Anna's arms. It felt right. But, there was no way Anna felt the same, she thought. Conceal it, don't feel.

Anna's grip on Elsa suddenly tightened, and her body grew incredibly stiff. Elsa turned her head more towards Anna's hair, startled by the sudden response. Had Elsa done something wrong? She thought she heard the strawberry-blonde haired girl shudder a bit. Worried, Elsa drew away from the embrace and looked at Anna hurriedly. Anna's beaming expression had turned to one of distress, eyes wide open in what Elsa thought looked like fear. Fear? Fear of what? Elsa looked around frantically, trying to find what Anna's gaze was lingering on.

The younger girl felt her heart speed up, her hands turn clammy and cold. She could barely hear Elsa asking her over and over again, "Anna! Are you alright? What's wrong?!" Her breathing quickened, trying to pull more oxygen into her lungs. But it didn't feel like it was working. It felt like air had been completely knocked out of her. And all because of Han's approaching figure.

He's handsome, Elsa thought, but she didn't like the way he smiled as he approached the pair. Elsa felt Anna grab her hand quickly.

Hans smirked as he watched Anna's expression turn to one of fear. Ignoring the blonde, he drilled his eyes into Anna. She tried to tear her eyes away from Hans' gaze, but she couldn't. She felt like a deer caught by headlights. "Hello, Anna." Hans cooly greeted her.

Anna swallowed painfully. She tried to find her voice. Elsa is here, she thought. Elsa is here. He can't do anything. Act normal. Elsa can't know what happened. "H-Hans." She stiffly replied. Elsa looked on curiously. She didn't know the auburn-haired man who Anna called Hans, but she knew she disliked him. If he was making Anna act that way, he must have done something horrible. She gave him her best glare.

"Making friends I see?" Hans commented as he noticed the taller girl glaring daggers at him. He didn't care about her though. All he really cared about was making Anna miserable. And he was good at that. He stepped closer to Anna, watching as Anna's breathing quickened even more. "You may have been able to escape me by switching out of that class, but you know, this is a pretty small school. I can find you wherever you are."

"G-go away, Hans. Just leave me alone... please." Anna hated how desperate she sounded, so afraid. She gripped Elsa tighter.

"Go away? That's not such a nice thing to say to your boyfriend, Anna."

Boyfriend? Elsa thought. There was no way.

"Ex-boyfriend!" Anna spat.

"Oh come on," Hans replied as he brought his hand up to cup Anna's chin. She shied away from his touch, but he gripped tightly. Elsa felt something in the pit of her stomach - a mix of jealousy and rage. "What happened to you saying you'd always love me? Was that a lie?" The anger bubbled up, and Elsa felt heat radiating through her fists as she clenched her hands into little balls. It was exacerbated as Hans brought his face closer and closer to Anna's. Anna whimpered.

"Please...stop."

Hans smirked. "No. Now, be a good girl, and give me a kiss, huh?"

4 inches away. 3 inches. 2 inches.

Elsa snapped. She used all of her strength to heave Hans away, eyes clouded with anger. Elsa doubted she had ever felt so angry for anyone else's sake. But seeing Anna so powerless like that, wrapped around Han's pinky finger like some sort of toy.. she felt sick. How could Anna have dated such a monster?

Anna sobbed a sigh of relief. But it quickly turned to a whine of desperation. She tugged at Elsa's hand, trying to pull her away to a more public place as she watched Hans' face distort into an expression of anger. Anna knew that face well, and whatever was going to come next would not be good.

"Elsa, _come on_." At the sound of her name, Elsa snapped out of her angry glare at the auburn-haired monster. She allowed the younger girl to drag her away to Olaf dining hall. Elsa huffed while Anna remained silent, tears threatening to spill out of the corners of her eyes. A couple dripped out, so Anna hurriedly tried to wipe them away without her new friend noticing.

But Elsa did. All the anger left her suddenly, and all she could feel was sadness and despair at the sight of Anna's anguish. "Oh Anna," Elsa stopped walking and cupped Anna's cheeks with her pale, cool hands. She wiped away the tears with the pads of her thumbs, and kept rubbing small circles on the younger girl's soft skin. "It's alright Anna, you'll be okay."

Anna gazed into Elsa's eyes, and just couldn't control herself anymore. At Elsa's kind words, she felt all the fear she felt the past few weeks hit her like a wave. She started to sob uncontrollably. Anna thrust her arms around Elsa's neck and buried her nose into the older girl's neck. She smelled so good. Like half-winter half-fall.

Elsa felt Anna's tears soak her shirt, but she didn't care. She didn't hesitate to respond to Anna's embrace this time. She wrapped her slender arms around Anna's waist and whispered reassurances into her ear. "It's okay, Anna. I've got you... I've got you."


	7. In The Flesh!

Something a bit different.  
Kristoff's POV!

* * *

I very nearly gawked at the sight of her - the tall, platinum-blonde haired girl that never really socialized, never really talked, and from what I have heard, never really left the confines of her room or the english building. Really, I had been at Arrendelle for a couple weeks now, and have only been able to catch glimpses of Elsa outside of class. But then there she was, all of sudden, right in front of me.

I warily bit into my sandwich as I observed the pair in front of me. Something was wrong, and no, not just because Elsa was sitting in front of me eating lunch. Anna was unusually quiet. She couldn't look me in the eye, and for some reason, Elsa was looking at her like she might break any second. Like Anna was some sort of ice-fragile sculpture that could shatter upon contact. I scoffed. Really now, Anna was the most resilient person I knew. The only thing she was insecure about, that I knew of, were her freckles. Oh... that, and Hans. More specifically, what Hans did to her. My eyes widened with realization.

"Anna... " Both girls flicked their gazes up to my face at my sudden speech. Lunch had been terribly quiet until then. "Did Hans bother you?!"

Bingo. Elsa glanced away awkwardly while Anna looked back at her sandwich. An expression of hurt, fear and anger clouded her features. I hated seeing Anna like that. She was the happiest girl I knew until Hans happened.

I could feel anger creeping down my arms as well. I hadn't even realized I was clenching my fists and holding my breath until I tried speaking again. My sentences came out strained. I didn't mean to hiss when I said, "What did he do?"

Anna didn't want to tell me, I could tell. The last time she confessed something to me about Hans, back in high school, I nearly got expelled for punching his face in a couple times. And I would do it again, in a heartbeat. I loved Anna. No, not in _that _way. Not anymore at least. But I cared about her as a friend. She mumbled something under her breath as she fiddled with her fingers.

"What did you say?" I asked.

Elsa looked at Anna from the side, pursing her lips in what seemed to be a stern grimace. The blonde obviously didn't like what Anna was saying. The redhead mumbled again before Elsa huffed loudly. I was surprised. That had been the biggest emotional reaction I had ever seen from her, or have heard about.

"She _said_, he didn't do anything. But we all know thats a lie!" Realizing her voice might have sounded a little harsh, she tried to be gentler. She laid a hand on Anna's shoulder. Since when had they gotten so close, I wondered. "Why are you so reluctant to speak to Kristoff about this?"

"But he didn't _really _do anything. I just want this to all go away." Anna said sadly.

Elsa's expression softened even more at that. I watched carefully as Elsa watched Anna. Honestly, I didn't know what happened between the two of them, but I think I liked where it was going. Anna so obviously had a little thing for the blonde ever since they bumped into each other on the first day of orientation.

"Well, whatever it is, I'll help you out."

I didn't see how. Elsa didn't know anything, and however Anna felt, Anna didn't really _know_ Elsa at all.

"Look, Elsa right? You don't really know about the Hans thing, so maybe you should just leave this to -" I started to say. But Anna cut me off with a kick underneath the table. I suppressed a yelp as Elsa looked on curiously. For someone who was as emotionally wounded as Anna acted, she sure still had some fire left.

"Don't be rude, Kristoff. I want to tell her." Anna stared at me knowingly. Tell her? Tell Elsa about Hans? Her eyes communicated to me _yes_, as her expression tried to quell my obvious hesitation.

"But you don't even know her Anna."

"That's true," Elsa said softly. "We don't really know each other. Whatever this is, you should probably talk about it with someone who knows what's happening... like Christopher."

"It's Kristoff," I muttered. Was it really that hard for people to get my name right?

"No, no." Anna grabbed Elsa's hand. "I trust you."

"Really?" Elsa and I both said. I more yelled it out, while she gently stated it. We couldn't be more different really.

"Really really." Anna smiled. I sighed. My heart still told me that this was a bad idea. But I couldn't argue against Anna, especially with her grinning at Elsa like a little lovestruck teenager. I brought my hands up in indignation.

"Fine, fine, do as you wish Princess." I grabbed my trash and stood up to give them some privacy. But before I left, I turned my head around to look at the blonde. Anna didn't notice, but I bore my gaze into her, silently telling her that if she hurt Anna she would pay dearly.

I strode away, trying not to think about that Hans character. I would have to teach him a lesson or something during our painting class. Maybe stuff some oil paints down his throat or something. As I walked outside, I couldn't help but think back to Elsa's determined expression as I stared her down. I swore I saw her give me a slight nod, as if telling me she wouldn't ever hurt Anna. And for some reason, I knew I could believe her.


	8. Deep Breath Before The Plunge

Kristoff grumbled under his breath as he sat on a horrifically uncomfortable stool during his painting class. He wasn't so much irritated at the seat, however, as he was at Hans. The smirking son of a bitch sat amongst a group of girls, flirting incessantly with them, gleefully aware of Kristoff's fuming state. But there was nothing the blonde could do to him, not unless Kristoff wanted to get in trouble with the college. No - he would have to find some other way to stop Hans from bothering his best friend. So he merely glowered at the prick as Kristoff angrily brushed paint over the canvas in front of him.

His professor's voice startled him. "Those are... some interesting colors you have there, Kristoff."

The blonde let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. "Huh?"

The professor motioned toward Kristoff's painting. "The color choice." Kristoff looked toward it for the first time since he started glaring at Hans. It was supposed to be a real-life painting of the model in front of them, but he had been using blue paint the whole time.

"Uh...uh..." His eyes widened as he tried to search for some sort of artistically valid reason for choosing the obviously wrong color. "Its... um... abstract! Yeah, abstract! And it's... a reflection of my mood today."

The professor merely raised an eyebrow at the obvious bullshit, but chose to hold his tongue. "Carry on then."

Kristoff sighed. _I wonder if Anna told her yet_, he thought to himself. _  
_

* * *

**Anna's POV**

I walked with her back to my room after lunch, heart thudding the whole way there. I must have tucked invisible strands of hair behind my ears a million times, a nervous habit of mine since childhood. What what I thinking, anyway? I had only really known Elsa for a couple weeks. We could barely be called _friends_. But I was ready to spill my secret to her - my terrible past.

Ready may not be the right word. I wasn't ready. I don't think I could ever be ready to tell someone else about what Hans did to me. I was hesitant, but less so with Elsa. I don't know why. Just being around her brought a feeling of security to me. I knew I could trust her. She made me feel beautiful, the way she said my name. Always gentle, like a secret she wanted to keep to herself. There was no way that someone who could make me feel that way would ever intentionally hurt me. So I decided I could trust her with my secret.

"Anna?" Her angelic voice brought me out of my thoughts. We stood outside of my dorm room. I glanced back at her and tried to give her a smile. It may have come out looking like a grimace. Elsa looked nervous. More nervous than me. This wasn't really starting off well. I made her uncomfortable.

She cleared her throat a bit and looked away from me, a tinge of a blush on her cheeks. I had been staring, I realized. I mentally face-palmed myself. Good lord, I was such a ditz. "Uh, well I should probably open the door up, huh? Ha..ha, where are my keys... keys, keys, keys..." I fumbled through my backpack for a while, trying to find that blasted flash of gold metal to unlock my door. Of course, it was situated at the bottom of it, so that I had to uncomfortably twist my wrist to get.

"Here, we go, hehe." I opened the door and motioned for her to go in. "Make yourself at home! You can keep your shoes on, if you'd like... or off! It doesn't really matter, do what you like!" I noticed a small pile of clean clothes on my bed, and I jumped to move it while Elsa slowly moved around the room, taking it all in.

It was a modest sized room. A small window at the back of the room, my bed to the left of it, desk and chair to the right. Closet door immediately to the right when you walked in. I guess it was a bit on the small size, but that hardly mattered to me. It was cozy and I loved it.

She still didn't say anything, and I was getting a little antsy. Maybe she was uncomfortable in my room all alone? Maybe she didn't want to hear my story anymore? Oh god, I thought to myself. My breathing came a little quicker in faster bursts. I tried to calm myself, but I really was no help to my own state of mine.

When Elsa finally spoke I sputtered a huge sigh of relief. When she heard me she spun around and looked at me worriedly. The pure look of concern in her eyes was enough to make me feel comfortable again. "Are you alright, Anna?"

I waved my hands around. "Fine! Just fine! I was just a bit nervous, because we didn't really talk on the way here and then you came here and you still didn't say anything, but I guess I didn't talk either! But I was nervous that maybe you were thinking you didn't want to be here anymore, I mean it must be quite a lot to listen to some girl's problems. I mean, we don't exactly know each other _that _well, and I'm Anna... just Anna, and you! You're Elsa, and you're so beautiful-"

Holy shit. I just told her she was beautiful to her face. Why did my mouth have to run off and say everything single damn thing?! Have you no filter! I berated myself whilst flushing a deep red. I could barely lift my gaze to her eyes, but when I did I noticed she was blushing as well. _So cute_.

"T-thank you, Anna." Was it me or did her voice sound a little hoarse? "And I'm sorry I was so silent before... I just didn't know what to say, you know? And thought it would be best if you led. It is your story after all." I hated myself for making Elsa feel apologetic when really I was the one who should be sorry.

"No!" I grabbed her hand. She jumped with surprise, but her eyes never left my face. I felt my blush deepen. "No," I repeated, softly this time. "_I'm_ the one that should be sorry."

I felt her warm hand grip mine a little tighter. Her lips curled into a small smile. "Well, we can both be sorry."

We stood there for a while, my two hands grasping one of hers. Despite my embarrassment, I couldn't look away from her gaze. Our eyes stayed locked together for what seemed like an eternity. Yet when she finally spoke it had felt like a fleeting moment. Was that even possible? For something to feel so long, yet so short?

"For what it's worth...you're not _just_ Anna."

"What?" I remarked, before my brain could process what she said. Just Anna? Not just Anna? Oh. Ohhhh. Omg, I thought to myself. My heart rate sped up significantly, and I felt like I was on top of the world. I could hear the blood rush through my ears. How was it that she could have such an effect on me with just her presence, her touch, and a few words? It must be magic.

"You're not just Anna. You're wonderful, friendly, outgoing, endearing, and most of all, beautiful." I felt my cheeks heat up more, if that was even possible I was so sure that I was tomato red from the top of my heat to my chest. Yet each word made my heart flutter more. Yup, I was _so_ falling for her. What did she even see in me anyways.

"Well you're beautifuller!" Gahh, english, Anna! "I mean, not fuller, you're not fuller. What I mean is more beautiful."

"Thank you, Anna."

I pulled her over to my bed and sat down, motioning for her to do the same. We stared at each other for a few moments.

"So..." I started. She spoke at the same time.

"So..."

We giggled. "So, how about the weather today, huh? Lovely!" I joked.

She laughed a bit, but soon gave me a serious look. "Anna..."

I grimaced. "Right... right. About Hans. Where to start."

My voice shook a bit at the mention of Hans. Elsa reached out and grabbed my hand with her two cool ones, much like I had done before. Her touch was like electric, prompting my heart to thump all the more louder. She gave me a good squeeze and gazed at me reassuringly. Her small smile prompted me to go on.

I wondered if me telling her would change us... whatever this relationship was. Would she think differently of me? I knew Elsa would never tell anyone if I told her not to... that much I knew for certain. But would she stay with me? I gulped, trying to dislodge what seemed to be a big lump in my throat. It was to no avail.

My heart raced, and my hands shook, even the one in her grip. I took in a big breath, like one you would take before a plunge into water. A deep plunge, into the unknown, where the future was uncertain. My present contained Elsa, but would my future? This choice that I have to make would dictate our interactions from now on, and could change her presence, or lack of, in my life. What would it be? What would I choose? The truth?

After settling my nerves with another deep breath, I looked into Elsa's eyes and opened my mouth to speak.


End file.
